My K-Pop Viral Moment (And The Money Lessons You Can Learn From It)
No demon hunters were involved, but it was an incredibly moving few days that I'll never forget
Hi there, my friend.
As the summer of “K-Pop Demon Hunters” fades into fall — it is the most-watched Netflix movie ever, the film is being called the next “Frozen” and a song from the soundtrack hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts (check out the video below) — it felt like the right time to share my own viral K-pop moment.
Plus, my dad would’ve turned 79 this month, and he is at the heart of this story.
My dad died in October 2020 after battling multiple forms of cancer for more than a year. In the weeks and months that followed, my mom really struggled. The chaos and uncertainty around the pandemic certainly didn’t help things, nor did the fact that she was in Vegas while I was in Texas and my sister was in Washington, D.C. A bit too far away for regular drop-ins, even if there wasn’t a pandemic raging.
During this period, Mom discovered BTS. BTS is the biggest-selling K-pop group of all time, having sold tens of millions of records around the world. The video below has nearly 2 billion views on YouTube.
They’re one of the biggest music groups in the world, regardless of genre, but she didn’t know about them (nor did pretty much anyone in our family) before stumbling across their music in late 2020 or early 2021 after my dad passed.
She certainly never would’ve guessed how much they’d change her life.
Taken in by the group’s undeniably catchy songs, infectious energy and overall positivity, my mom slowly became a massive fan — which is still is today. She credits the group’s music for helping lift her out of the dark place she found herself after my dad passed. It is 100% true, and my family and I are incredibly thankful for that.
My (kinda) viral moment
From that point, BTS (and really all K-pop) has held a special place in my family’s heart. In May 2022, I even shared a bit of my mom’s story in a tweet.
The tweet (pictured below) was in response to an NBC News Now tweet about BTS visiting the White House.
I didn’t have any expectations about the tweet. I had earned a blue checkmark on Twitter (back when that still mattered) but I didn’t really think much about social media. It was just for fun, though I did include a couple of hashtags (including #btsarmy, which is what the group’s fanbase calls itself).
I had no idea how much it would take off.
An amazing outpouring of support
Almost immediately, the likes and retweets started pouring in. So did the positive messages from other BTS fans toward my mom.
“Thank you for sharing your story. May she continue to find strength and happiness for years to come.”
“I promise you she's not the oldest or even close we have one amazing of a community of all ages here and we're happy to have her. We have a saying around here that we find BTS when we need them the most.”
“Sending love to your mom!! Sorry about your dad's passing but I am happy for the positive turn that your mom got by finding comfort in BTS' music. Their music is truly remarkable, joyful and comforting! Thank you for sharing!”
“Please send your mother my best wishes!”
“This is beautiful. Give you mom lots of Army hugs for us.”
There were so many more. It went on for about three days.
My initial tweet ultimately earned more than 13,000 likes, more than 3,500 retweets and more personal replies than I can count. Subsequent tweets totaled a few thousand more likes altogether.
The real impact of the tweet went well beyond just likes and shares, though. It was one of the most moving things I’ve been part of.
The power of the K-pop fan (and the ask)
When the likes and shares started rolling in, I was genuinely stunned. I was glued to Twitter, watching in disbelief and trying to respond personally to as many of the kind comments as I could.
Along with replying to people individually, I also decided to write a reply (pictured below) to my original tweet and include a link to the cancer-research-fundraiser GoFundMe I had started in my dad’s honor a few months before.
I wasn’t sure how people would react to it, but I went ahead and posted. After all, I thought, I wasn’t trying to sell anything. It was all for a good cause.
The response was more than I’d ever imagined.
The donations started pouring in. Most were small — $5, $10, $20 — but they kept coming.
When the virality finally subsided, the BTS Army had donated about $1,100 to the fundraiser.
$1,100!
From people I’d never met and would never meet. From all over the world. All in support of my mom because she loved BTS.
I still can’t believe it happened — and I’ll be a K-pop fan forever because of it.
Two key takeaways
One big takeaway is simple: It never hurts to ask. The worst thing that could happen is they say no, but if they say yes, amazing things can happen.
That was some of my dad’s favorite advice. I share in my book how his words inspired me to write the book, and this is another example of the power of the ask. If I hadn’t shared the donation link and asked for people’s help, that would’ve meant $1,100 less going toward cancer research.
Never forget that people, generally speaking, want to help. Let them.
The second takeaway isn’t as obvious, but it is just as important: You can often have your company match your charitable donation.
Many, many companies throughout the country have programs in which they will match an employee’s charitable contribution up to a certain dollar amount each year. At my company, LendingTree, that number is $1,500. At some other companies, that limit may be higher or lower, but the programs are still important.
A few years back, I wrote for CBS Moneywatch about how billions of corporate charitable matching funds go unused every year. That’s billions. With a B. Money that would be enormously impactful for charities goes undonated, often because people simply don’t know that the programs exist.
Check out the link above to learn more about these programs. If you’re unsure as to whether your company offers one, reach out to your manager or your HR team. They’ll certainly know. If they do have one, take advantage of it, to the degree that you’re financially able. If they don’t, ask them to consider creating one. It’s a great thing.
Throughout the life of my fundraiser, corporate matches have contributed several hundred dollars toward my goals. And I’m not going to stop talking about corporate charitable matching until everyone knows about it.
I’d be honored if you’d consider donating
My fundraising didn’t stop once the tweets were no longer viral. In fact, I never plan to quit raising funds to fight cancer until this disease is just a distant memory.
Thank you for considering donating to this fundraiser. Every dollar matters.
Until next time!
Matt